Labour's timid approach to the elimination of poverty

Caron Lindsay points up a discrepancy between Labour's image of wishing to narrow the gap between rich and poor, and Corbyn's actual commitment. She reports that, ahead of a speech in Cambridge, the Labour spin machine briefed reporters that Corbyn would promise to end the freeze in already meagre benefits which, as prices go up, makes it even harder for people to survive. Instead, Mr Corbyn rolled up and said only: “We are confident that we will be able to end the benefits freeze.”

Anyone would think that Corbyn and McDonnell want to keep the poor that way.

No such equivocation on the part of Liberal Democrats. Caron quotes the 2017 manifesto:

"The Liberal Democrats are clear – balancing the books on the backs of the poor and disabled, and demonising people who claim benefits, is neither acceptable nor responsible. Although all government budgets must be scrutinised to minimise waste and ensure value for money, this must not be used as an excuse to attack the poor and vulnerable. In any case it is more effective to tackle the causes of the benefits bill – low pay, high rents, unemployment and ill-health.

"That’s why we will reverse unfair Conservative policies like reducing support for younger people and cutting the benefits of people not fit for work. We will reinstate the legally binding poverty targets of the Child Poverty Act. We will:

"Uprate working-age benefits at least in line with inflation."

It has become clear that the Liberal Democrats held the Tories back from doing all sorts of horrible things with benefits. Osborne wanted to implement the benefits freeze during the Coalition but Nick Clegg wouldn’t let him. We stopped them taking Housing Benefits from young people and set the benefit cap, which many of us vehemently disagree with, at a much more humane level. Since we’ve been off the scene, the Tories have shown their usual disdain for those who need the vital safety net that social security provides.

While I would be the first to admit that our record in coalition was far from perfect, there is simply no excuse for the Labour Party to carry the benefits freeze on.